TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp
Corp <6753.T> said on Thursday it would spend 72 billion yen
($729 million) to build a new solar cell plant in Sakai,
western Japan.

Sharp said in July it would build the world's largest solar
cell plant by March 2010, along with a 380 billion yen liquid
crystal display (LCD) panel plant, but it did not disclose the
size of capital investments for the solar cell factory.

Sharp competes with Germany's Q-Cells <QCEG.DE> in solar
cells. Solar companies around the world are expanding
production capacity rapidly to meet growing demand for green
energy to counter global warming.